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Recharge Wrap-up: Renault Zoe driving video, BYD Buses in Campinas

A new video shows drivers how to get the most range out of the Renault Zoe. By managing one's driving style, as we all know, one can minimize energy consumption. The Zoe's Econometer and R-Link screen give feedback about the rate of consumption, which helps let the driver know that they should hold back in the throttle. The R-Link system shows the distribution of energy in real time. It also analyzes the driving route and gives feedback at the end of the session. The Zoe also has an Eco button that automatically limits consumption regardless of driving style. Pre-programming climate control can also help improve range. These are all features we're more or less familiar with, but see how they work in the Renault Zoe in the video above. Tesla has announced it will release its second quarter results on August 5. After the automaker releases its financial information on that day, it will hold a live question and answer conference call webcast to discuss those results and outlook at 5:30 Eastern. The second quarter ended June 30. Read more at MarketWatch. Campinas, Brazil will add 10 BYD electric buses to its fleet. It is the first city in Brazil to have a zero-emissions bus fleet. Campinas will be using BYD's 39-foot, four-door K9 battery electric bus, but the K11 articulated electric bus will also begin testing in the city soon. Campinas Mayor Jonas Donizete likes the electric buses because "they are very comfortable, almost noise-free, and great for the environment," and they will help reduce the city's air and noise pollution. BYD plans to open factories for electric buses and solar panels in Campinas over the next year, investing about $108.5 million from 2014 to 2017. Read more in the press release below. BYD to Deliver 10 Electric Buses to Campinas Public Transport Fleet 07/22/2015 (Campinas, Brazil): BYD do Brasil and Campinas City Administration announced this month, the addition of 10 battery-electric buses to the city's public transportation bus fleet. Campinas is a city in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and will be the first in the country to have a fleet of fully electric, zero emission buses operating in its streets. The model chosen to integrate the fleet in Campinas is the BYD K9, a 12-meter, 4-door, low-floor urban bus, with universal accessibility for passengers with limited mobility.

Weekly Recap: Volvo buys Polestar, makes performance a priority

Volvo is taking its performance business in-house, and the Swedish carmaker announced Tuesday that it bought tuning company Polestar, which has long been known for producing sporty Volvos. The move allows Volvo to ramp up its performance business, and it plans to increase Polestar-branded vehicle sales to 1,000 to 1,500 annually, up from the 750 total projected for this year. The companies have been working together on motorsports projects since 1996. Financial terms of the sale were not released, and Polestar workers will move over to Volvo. Former Polestar owner Christian Dahl will keep control of the Polestar racing team and operate it under a new name. In addition to sales volume, Volvo has ambitious plans for other parts of Polestar, including its aftermarket business. Volvo also said it will use its twin-engine hybrid technology for Polestar models in the future, though specifics and timing were not revealed. Meanwhile, Volvo announced it will offer a run of 265 total Polestars in the United States for the 2016 model year, with S60 and V60s available. "Driving a Volvo Polestar is a special experience. We have decided to bring this experience to more Volvo drivers, placing the full resources of Volvo behind the development of Polestar as the model name for our high performance cars," Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson said in a statement. OTHER NEWS & NOTES 2016 Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra, get nose jobs Automakers tend to refer to light updates as 'facelifts,' and that's exactly what Chevy gave the 2016 Silverado and GMC Sierra. Chevy slightly changed the front end of the truck. Using the one photo released of the new Z71 model as a guide, we can see that the headlights went from a stacked vertical design to single bulbs, and they are set on top of LED running lights. The grille has more body-colored elements instead of shiny metal, and the hood has a new line running down the middle (look really closely). The design theme will be similar across the portfolio, though materials and details will vary, a spokesman said. Some models, like the High Country and LTZ will have more chrome, and the LEDs are only for the upper trims. Chevy also said it will use the eight-speed automatic transmission on more versions of the Silverado, and it updated the MyLink feature to support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

Recharge Wrap-up: BorgWarner buys Remy, Citroen's Bluesummer

BorgWarner will buy Remy International. The auto parts maker, known especially for its turbocharging technology, will buy Remy, a maker of electric motors for EVs and hybrids, in order to better compete in a growing electrified vehicle market. In a deal expected to close late this year, BorgWarner has offered to buy 32.2 million shares of Remy at $29.50 each for a total of about $950 million. Remy did about $1.2 billion in sales in 2014. Read more from Reuters. Deliveries of the Tesla Model S P85D will begin soon in Hong Kong. Some customers there have received emails from Tesla saying, "Your Model S is ready to enter production," and asking for registration information. Hong Kong is likely to be one of the first locations to receive the right-hand-drive version of the P85D. The first deliveries are expected in late August. Read more at Inside EVs. Tesla Motors has hired Ganesh Srivats as its vice president for sales in North America. Srivats is the former senior vice president at British luxury fashion brand Burberry. The hire will help Tesla build its luxury lifestyle image as the company enters more markets around the globe. "If Tesla is thinking that they are selling a lifestyle and a way of thinking, then someone from Burberry could be the right choice," says Ken Harris of Cadent Consulting Group. "Burberry gets lifestyle." Earlier this year, Tesla reassigned its vice president of worldwide sales and service Jerome Guillen, and created separate sales positions for North America, Europe and Asia. Read more from Bloomberg. Citroen will distribute Bollore's four-seat, electric convertible, the Bluesummer. Bollore Group and PSA Peugeot Citroen recently announced that the funky EV would be built at PSA's plant in Rennes, France beginning in September. While it originally appeared that the Bluesummer would be available through carsharing programs, Citroen now says it will sell the Bluesummer through its dealership network. "This partnership with the Bollore Group is an opportunity for the Citroen network to increase its sales by attracting to its showrooms new customers who like the originality and freshness of the Bluesummer and thus promoting all the vehicles in the range," says Philippe Narbeburu, sales director for Citroen France. Read more in the press release below.

Recharge Wrap-up: Smart Silvretta E-Car Rally, Uber's autonomous Teslas

Daimler took part in the 2015 Silvretta E-Car Rally with seven electrified cars from Mercedes-Benz and Smart. It is the automakers' sixth year competing in the competition in the mountains of Austria's Montafon region. Mercedes fielded two B-Class Electric Drives, an SLS AMG Electric Drive, C350e, S500e and GLE500e 4Matic alongside a Smart Brabus Fortwo Electric Drive Cabriolet. The Silvretta Rally sees some 150 vintage cars and 30 electric vehicles take part in the event, which took place from July 2 through 5 this year. Read more in the press release from Daimler below. Uber CEO Travis Kalanick says that he'd want to buy all of Tesla's autonomous vehicles if they were available in 2020. Venture capitalist Steve Jurvetson relayed Kalanick's comments from the Top 10 Tech Trends dinner in June. Jurvetson also praises self-driving cars, saying, "I believe they are already safer than my parents, and I would trust my kids with them. And they're just going to get better." Jurvetson also believes that taxi services will prosper from the use of autonomous cars in the future. Read more at Hybrid Cars. A Michigan legislator has introduced a bill that would count burning industrial solids — such as tires and plastics — toward the state's renewable energy mandate. Aric Nesbitt's bill would "remove unnecessary burdens on the appropriate use of solid waste as a clean energy source" in order to meet the state's requirement that 10 percent of energy come from renewable sources. Critics argue that these materials are not truly renewable, and that burning them causes pollution and emits greenhouse gases. The proposed bill would also repeal a law requiring utilities to work toward reducing energy use by one percent per year. Read more at Treehugger. Will the cars National Electric Vehicle Sweden (NEVS) builds in China bear the Saab name? While NEVS is the newest parent company to Saab after being acquired in bankruptcy from Spyker, there's no confirmation that the electric vehicles it builds at its Tianjin plant will be sold as Saabs. Swedish defense firm Saab AB, which held the rights to the Saab name, withheld permission to use it after NEVS declared bankruptcy last year. "The exact models and brands are not finalized yet," says a NEVS spokesman. The company says it is spending $200 million to build the new factory in China, with an expected annual capacity of 200,000 vehicles. Read more at Automotive News Europe.

Recharge Wrap-up: liquid-cooled Tesla Supercharger, Acenta+ Leaf

A new video offers a close look at Tesla's updated Supercharger. Recently, Elon Musk spoke about the new charging station with a thinner, suppler liquid-cooled cable that is not only easier to manage, but has the potential to handle larger loads and offer quicker recharging. The first examples have been installed in Mountain View, CA, which we can see in this video. Besides the new cable, the new Supercharger also features a solid "button" on the charging handle as well as vents around the bottom of the unit. The video even shows thermal imaging of the new Supercharger, which shows the cable to be cooler than the cameraman usually records. See for yourself in the video above, and read more at Treehugger. Nissan has added a new trim level to the Leaf in the UK. The Acenta+ slots above the Acenta and just below the range-topping Tekna. It comes standard with the 6.6-kW onboard charger and Mode-3 32-amp (EVSE) cable. Using a fast charger, the Acenta+ Leaf can charge to 100 percent in just four hours. "We're delighted to add a new member to the Leaf family in the UK," says Nissan Motor GB Managing Director James Wright. "More than 9,500 Leafs have already been sold here and Nissan is the undisputed leader in the EV market. This new model delivers exceptional value and showcases the Leaf's incredible technology and engineering." Read more at Next Green Car. Mercedes-Benz Malaysia says its vehicles are compatible with B10 biodiesel blend. Malaysia recently announced a mandate for diesel to be sold blended with 10 percent palm-oil based biodiesel, after which, carmakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz came forward with concerns over compatibility with their vehicles. "We have evaluated carefully the influence of B10 Biodiesel blends on our current diesel vehicles for the Malaysian market and we are now able to confirm its compatibility," says Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO Roland Folger. "We have service intervals of 12,000 km to ensure that our customers are not affected by the diesel quality. Our diesel-powered vehicles currently sold in Malaysia were seen to have run both smoothly and safely with the use of the B10 biodiesel blend." Read more from Paul Tan's Automotive News. Renault has honored its leading electric vehicle dealers with the 2015 Renault EV Awards.

Recharge Wrap-up: Pikes Peak Honda CR-Z, Tesla's liquid-cooled cable

Honda will race a CR-Z hybrid in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The car will use Electric SH-AWD, which probably means it will be using electric motors to power the rear wheels. Whether the Pikes Peak CR-Z uses the same powertrain as the upcoming Acura NSX or the 3.5-liter V6 with three-motor hybrid system used in the Acura RLX Sport Hybrid is still unclear. The car will also use Acura's Precision All-Wheel Steering (P-AWS) system. The CR-Z will be piloted by Tetsuya Yamano. Read more at Hybrid Cars, or, if you read Japanese, at Response. Tesla has introduced a thinner, liquid-cooled Supercharger cable. While the convenience of not having to "wrestle a good-sized snake into the car," as Elon Musk calls it in a shareholder speech, is wonderful, it could also allow for faster charging in the future. The liquid-cooled charging cable "also has the potential for increased power of the Supercharger long-term," says Musk. A cable able to withstand larger loads could mean shorter stops when it's time for a charge. Tesla has installed the first next-generation cable at the Mountain View Supercharger. Read more at Charged EVs. Smart is offering its Twinamic automatic dual-clutch transmission on more models in Europe. In addition to the 71-horsepower Smart Fortwo, the DCT will now be available in the 90-horsepower Fortwo and the 71-horsepower Forfour. In the Fortwo, the Twinamic DCT adds ˆ1,275 (about $1,437) to the price over the manual transmission, and is an extra ˆ1,425 (about $1,606) in the Forfour. The option of steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters as part of the Sport package makes driving the efficient microcar even more fun. Deliveries of the newly equipped vehicles begin at the end of July. Read more in the press release below. smart extends twinamic range for fortwo and forfour: Even more models with automatic transmission Stuttgart. Following in the footsteps of the smart fortwo with 52 kW/71 hp, the smart fortwo with 66 kW/90 hp and the smart forfour with 52 kW/71 hp are now also available with fully automatic twinamic dual clutch transmission. This costs an extra 1275 euros compared to the versions with 5-speed manual transmission (forfour: 1425 euros). This means that both model series now offer a choice between no fewer than nine engine/transmission combinations. Delivery of the new models will begin at the end of July 2015.

Recharge Wrap-up: Ohio State wins EcoCar 3 Year One, Renault video praises environmental benefits of EVs

A new video from Renault touts the benefits of electric vehicles. The video covers how EVs can help improve the air we breathe and mitigate climate change. It looks into the future at how the air of various metropolitan areas would improve with the adoption of electric cars. It focuses on how EVs help reduce not just CO2 emissions that put the climate in jeopardy, but gases and particulate matter that directly affect the human health. A study in Rome shows that if 10 to 20 percent of the vehicles were electric, particulate pollutants that cause respiratory and heart diseases would decrease by 30 percent, with nitrogen dioxide decreasing 45 percent. "The solution already exists," the video says, "and it is quite accessible for most of us." See the video above, and read more in the press release below. Ohio State University has won Year One of EcoCar 3. Winning the Year One trophy in the competition to create eco-friendly technology and incorporate it into a Chevrolet Camaro, the team defends its title from EcoCar 2 and wins $10,000 in prize money. "This year really lays the foundation vehicle development, which is critical step in the process for future success," says Ohio State University Engineering Manager M.J. Yatsko. "We have already begun vehicle dynamic analysis for next year and are excited to share some of our innovative features we plan to integrate into our vehicle." Teams receive their Camaros this fall, and will use the next years to install, test, and refine their technologies. Read more from the US Department of Energy. Advanced Microgrid Solutions will use up to 500 megawatt-hours of Tesla batteries for grid-based energy storage. It will install the Tesla Powerpack systems for storage in commercial and industrial facilities to help balance the grid load. It offers greater reliability for the grid, and cost saving for customers. "Tesla's focus on performance and design makes them the stand out technology choice for our projects," Says Advanced Microgrid Solutions CEO Susan Kennedy. "AMS' projects require intelligent, powerful and scalable energy storage solutions. Tesla's technology gives us the edge we are looking for." Read more in the press release from AMS. The National Electric Drag Racing Association has announced the Inaugural 2015 NEDRA Points Championship Series. It borrows rules from NHRA and IHRA, and seeks to put vehicle consistency and driver skill at the forefront.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla sells Model S 85 and 70D in Malaysia, Chevy Spark EV built using clean energy

Tesla will send Model S 70D and Model S 85 EVs to Malaysia for leasing to government-linked companies. Only those companies will have access to the models as a two-year lease, which will be imported and leased by Malaysian Green Technology Corporation. The plan is part of an initiative by the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water to allow government officials and other influential people to get to know the electric vehicles and the benefits that come along with them. Most of the 120 vehicles available will be the 70D model, and the lessee companies will have the option to purchase the cars at the end of the two years. Read more from Paul Tan's Automotive News. Wanxiang is hosting students from Delaware in China as part of a program to learn Mandarin and visit schools and science and technology sites. Wanxiang, the auto parts company that acquired Fisker (which had manufacturing based in Delaware) and battery maker A123 Systems, will give the students tours of its solar technology facilities, among other places, and see what daily life is like for families in the region. The program helps students interested in science and technology to foster marketable skills — like learning a foreign language — that will help them get jobs in industries around the world. Read more at Delaware Online. The Chevrolet Spark EV's electric motor (pictured) and drive unit are manufactured using clean energy. The e-motors building of the General Motors Baltimore Operations complex has a new rooftop solar array and uses LED and CFL lighting, helping the building recently earn LEED Silver certification. The landfill-free facility also takes advantage of the 1.23-megawatt solar array on the grounds, helping it source six percent its energy from renewable sources. The plant has reduced its energy intensity by 15.5 percent in three years, and continues to work toward reducing consumption and sourcing clean energy. "We believe reducing our environmental footprint is good for the climate and good for our business," says GM Executive Director of Global Public Policy Greg Martin. Read more in the press release below. Spark EV Motor Plant Fueled by Green, Clean Energy ENERGY STAR®, USGBC and Maryland state agency recognize facility's efforts WHITE MARSH, Md. – Chevrolet recently began selling the Spark EV to Maryland commuters able to take advantage of the state's robust charging infrastructure.

Marchionne impressed by 'that kid' Elon Musk

FCA boss Sergio Marchionne has a reputation as an incredibly canny businessman. Some examples of his acumen include finishing Fiat's takeover of Chrysler from a beachside home and winning a challenge with Luca di Montezemolo for the reins of Ferrari. The Italian exec recently took a trip to California and lavished praise on Elon Musk after a meeting with the Tesla CEO. Although, the compliment did come off as a little patronizing. "I'm incredibly impressed with what that kid has done," Marchionne said to Reuters about his conversation with Musk. Unfortunately, the FCA exec didn't go into detail about what he and Tesla boss discussed. Although, calling the 43-year-old billionaire a "kid" does seem a little rude, especially given Musk's success with Paypal, in the auto industry and at SpaceX. While in the Golden State, Marchionne also had a talk with Apple CEO Tim Cook. Although, he was similarly cagey about what the men discussed. "He's interested in Apple's intervention in the car, that's his role," Marchionne said to Reuters about the conversation without divulging more. The two companies already have some small links thanks to Ferrari's use of the tech giant's products. As one additional highlight for Marchionne's California trip, he took a ride in the Google autonomous car. News Source: ReutersImage Credit: Paul Sancya / AP Photo Green Chrysler Fiat Tesla Green Culture Technology Emerging Technologies Autonomous Vehicles Electric Sergio Marchionne FCA

Recharge Wrap-up: Georgia gets E15, new PSA EVs will be cheaper and offer more range

What would it be like to test drive a gasoline-powered car in an EV-dominated world? A post by Tibor Blomhall at Tesla Club Sweden gives a glimpse into this alternate universe. The review begins by noticing the pushiness of the dealer at the "repair shop" that sells the car, which is cause for suspicion - a clear nod to Tesla's lack of such franchise dealerships. Of course, the author mentions the noise, vibration and the smell of the exhaust. He notes the inefficiency of the idling vehicle and its less-than-smooth operation, particularly when it comes to changing gears. The one plus: refueling is quick. The downsides, though, are that the fuel is toxic, dangerous and expensive, and you can't refuel at home. "Imagine if you could charge your electric car only at the power companies' most expensive fast chargers - and nowhere else!" Read more at Tesla Club Sweden. Georgia's first E15 station opens Friday, May 8. The Gulf Quick Stop Food Store at 855 S Cobb Drive SE in Marietta, Georgia will offer the 88-octane E15 ethanol blend. Two other Gulf locations in Madison and Greensboro will also offer E15 in Georgia. Customers at the Marietta location can enjoy "Happy Hour" pricing from 4 to 5 pm on May 8, and festivities include music, a concert ticket giveaway, face painting and a moon walk. State officials will be present for the celebration. Read more at Domestic Fuel. PSA/Peugeot-Citroen says its second-generation EVs will be less expensive and offer more range (surprise). The company is also planning to launch a plug-in hybrid in 2019 using the company's EMP2 platform, shared by the Peugeot 308 and Citroen C4 Picasso. "PSA will make pure electric cars from the bottom of the market upwards based on the new platform by the end of the decade," says a PSA spokesman. As for the plug-in hybrid, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares says, "We have completed the architectural aspects and are currently deciding on the battery technology." Read more from Automotive News Europe. Related Gallery 2014 Peugeot 308: Frankfurt 2013 View 23 Photos News Source: Domestic Fuel, Automotive News Europe, Tesla Club SwedenImage Credit: Citroen Green Tesla Citroen Peugeot Alternative Fuels Ethanol Electric recharge wrapup